Abstract
The phenolic composition and antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the green alga Ulva rigida collected monthly for 12 months were investigated. Significant differences in antibacterial activity were observed during the year with the highest inhibitory effect in samples collected during spring and summer. The highest free radical scavenging activity and phenolic content were detected in U. rigida extracts collected in late winter (February) and early spring (March). The investigation of the biological properties of U. rigida fractions collected in spring (April) revealed strong antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Ethyl acetate and n-hexane fractions exhibited substantial acetylcholinesterase inhibitory capacity with EC50 of 6.08 and 7.6 μg mL−1, respectively. The total lipid, protein, ash, and individual fatty acid contents of U. rigida were investigated. The four most abundant fatty acids were palmitic, oleic, linolenic, and eicosenoic acids.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by grants from the Tunisian “Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technology”. We wish to thank Pr. Adnane Hammami Head of the Research Laboratory “Micro-organismes et Pathologie Humaine”, EPS Habib Bourguiba, Sfax, Tunisia for providing some of the pathogenic bacterial strains and technical assistance. We thank Mrs Lobna Jlail, technical assistant, for excellent technical GC–MS support in these studies.
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Trigui, M., Gasmi, L., Zouari, I. et al. Seasonal variation in phenolic composition, antibacterial and antioxidant activities of Ulva rigida (Chlorophyta) and assessment of antiacetylcholinesterase potential. J Appl Phycol 25, 319–328 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-012-9866-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-012-9866-5